The Beginning of HiME
by blackknight86
Summary: Involves the ancient times which they always mention in the anime. All the characters are created by me and only one is 'borrowed'. My first fan fic. Have mercy.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIME!

When I watch Mai-Otome, they kept mentioning about ancient times, blab bla bla…And I thought to myself what really happened back then. I wrote this story last year just for the fun of it until I find some parts that are pretty similar to the 'ancient times' in that anime.

* * *

**Prologue:** **Dawn of The Great War**

King Solomon has reign over the Windbloom Kingdom for more than 40 years now. He has never been more content with the achievements he had made, it was a dream come true. 10th Century bce , Windbloom region flourished like no other region could and currently, at its highest peak. It is a golden era for Windbloom Kingdom indeed…Developed region, advance technologies, bountiful crops, peaceful land up to a point where security is no longer a concern, people are united and living in harmony, smooth trades and stable in terms of economy and politics. The kingdom boasts having the most educated citizens among other regions in the ancient world. However, a kingdom's prosperity never last long. It is as if there is a curse lurking around a kingdom that has reach a certain plateau. It has always been this way. Deep down in King Solomon's mind, he knows there is something about to happen. Just…when? He leave that thought behind and continue to enjoy the lush greens on his land and the soothing sea breeze caressing his face. He is appreciating every moment…while he can.

The newly enthroned King Assym of Cardair Empire astonished the ancient world. He is well known to be merciless, cruel and blood thirsty. Rulers of the ancient world acknowledge his powers and welcome him to the ruling society, fearing he will will wage war to anyone against him. However, King Solomon doesn't seem so. Since then, relationship between Windbloom Kingdom and Cardair Empire went sour. Matters gone worse when Windbloom refuse to bow to Cardair's supremacy. King Assyria never give up about that issue. He will always be out there, waiting for right time to strike and conquer King Solomon's empire…entirely.

* * *

King Solomon knew his battalions are never good enough, compared to the Ashkar Warriors. Nevertheless, it was heard that Ashkar Warriors are not warriors; instead, they are ruthless demons and bloody creatures summoned from the underworld with the help from Aswad region. Dark art and black magic are their expertise. On top of that, they have very close relationship with…'Dark'.

Once upon a time, there were legions of ancient war machines sculpted by the hands of God. Their duty was to guard the world during its making process and its state of emptiness after the world was completed. Only 7 days. All they had too was to guard with their entire soul for 7 days. No one is perfect except the Gods. Due to the imperfection that every heavenly guard had, 'greed for the ultimate power', they showed violence towards their God's creation, cruel to the human race and made the Gods felt how petty they were. The Gods, wrathfully forbid them to see 'Light' again and sent them to 'Dark'. For true warriors, it is more painful to be disowned by their leader than to ripped their souls off the body. At that very instance, their hatred towards the Gods grew even more. Soon, the goodness in them disappears forever. Nevertheless, the most powerful weapons, Sword of No Return, are still in their possession. Initially, the swords were bestowed to them for guarding and self-protection purposes.

According to ancient scripts found at the underground cave right beneath Windbloom Castle, they existed as a pair of swords made from the tears of god and flakes of Blood Stream. The flakes of Blood Stream, which could be collected only after every 1600 years when the harshest, bitter winter occurs. Despite that, they agreed to do the collection themselves to show their determination towards their duty and faithfulness towards the Gods, 'To safeguard the world at any cost'. This indicates how they were once so pure, so harmless. Regardless of what happened, contracts have been sealed between Light and Dark.

Light, the only medium between human and the mighty Gods above, Obsidian says "The guards are of no concern to us anymore. Do whatever you wish with them. But I must warn you, they must never roam the face of the earth ever again or you shall suffer the consequences."

Immediately after Light dematerialised, a little twist in magic and spells by Lady Gabe ('Dark') the underworld Queen, guards transformed to demons and evil creatures. The swords held in hand, shared a life with its owners but part of the sword was under the control of the Queen as well. Neither of them were seen nor heard, just like the contract mentioned.

* * *

Today, the advancing of the Ashkar Warriors had to be halt. King Solomon gathered his 12 officers from all over Windbloom Kingdom to form legions to fight evil intruders. Twelve legions are form. The legions were lead by Windbloom Kingdom's finest HiME fighters. All of them are ready to serve their kingdom and protect it at any cost just like the warriors once did. Preparations are done within 3 days. Weapons, soldiers, food, anything that is needed for war is excruciately gathered within the short period of time.

But most importantly, have they come up with the best strategy plan?


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIMEs…

* * *

**Chapter 1: Great War, Great Escape**

Finally, war between Cardair and Windbloom Kingdom begins. The Ashkar Warriors are roaring as they advance. The earth shakes and rumbling sounds of Ashkar Warriors marching forward could be heard in a faraway distance. Nothing can stop them now. The Gate of the Underworld is unleashed. Thousands of legionnaires and horses are brutally slaughtered and the power of evil grew immensely stronger. Explosions are everywhere. It is a sign of HiME fighters has utilised their power. Blood splatters everywhere, dead bodies flood the river, unattached limbs lying around, people's cry of pain and suffer, famine, spread of diseases…it was horrible.

Evil prevail. All of the 12 legions yield, as the HiME fighters cannot bear to lose any more legionnaires…, the pain… is just unbearable. Swiftly, the Assyrian Warriors arrest the fighters and keep them in captivity. All of them thought it is the end and Windbloom Kingdom shall perish under the hands of King Assym. However, King Solomon (who is under captivity as well) smirked.

_Flashback_

King Solomon is riding his unicorn Child, Mares along the Great Sabbath Rivers of Windbloom Kingdom. A long haul meeting with the ancient world rulers is held and he had a tough time talking some sense into King Assym about their trade issues. Well, at least they finally came to agree with the terms in a contract after RyuKyu budge in and Florence concluded the meeting. The weather is great, blue skies and bright sunny sun. Suddenly, a little boy on the river bank caught his attention. King Solomon is amazed by his weird fighting techniques and watched him practise. After a while, King Solomon approaches the boy.

He kneels before the boy and talks to him, "You have good fighting skills, little one."

Obviously, the boy did not know his identity, "Of course I do! My granpa thought me all the skills and he is the best fighter in my village. I am very proud of him and wanted to be just like him when I grow up!" the boy answers with sheer pride glowing in his glassy grey eyes.

King Solomon noticed that.

"Oi, Dimitrius! It's time for dinner! Your grams cooked your favourite lamb shank!" shouts the old man. He wondered who is talking to his grandson as he got near them. The boy smiled and run passes King Solomon to hug his granpa.

Dimitrius's granpa is shocked when he saw the person kneeling, "King So..So..Solomon?" he stutters.

The old man was about to bow but King Solomon made a gesture and says,"No, it is alright. I saw your grandson while I was relaxing. He is a true blue fighter indeed."

King Solomon smiles and scruffs the boys' hair.

The boy shouts, "Hey! I hate that! Don't treat me like a little boy!"

The old man and King Solomon laughed.

"Did you say lamb shank? Would you mind if I join you for dinner? I love lamb shank too!" says King Solomon while rubbing his belly.

"Sure! I would be honoured to have you join us!" the old man quickly replies.

They all walked back to the boys wooden shack just near by the river. They had some conversations going on and the king happened to know the boy have no parents and was found at the doorsteps of the very house. Since the old couple had no children, it was a blessing to them. They raised the boy just like their real grandson and shower him with love.

Since this is the case,"Would you be willing to let me train this boy personally?" asks King Solomon.

The old couple could not be happier about that request but King Solomon noticed a tear almost rolled off the edge of the granma's eye.

"Don't worry. He is allowed to come back to you at the end of the day. He does not have to stay at the quarters as other boys do. In an addition to that, we may train at the river bank near your house and I will solely sponsor his school fees. How does that sound?" adds the king.

Granpa and granma hold King Solomon's both hands with firm grip and looked straight at him with tears rolling off their cheeks.

King Solomon understand that it meant a lot for the old couple.

_End of flashback

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_

In an emergency like this, 13th special task legion lead by Dimitrius from the White Rhinehorn Valley was formed to save the twelve legions captured.

Dimitrius, a noble young man who is well known for his sword fighting skills and defence. His art of strategizing is the finest.

However, people who know the existence of the 13th tribe were limited. They are formed to carry certain task secretly. This is the main reason why King Solomon offered to train Dimitrius personally. He saw the 'potential' in that boy. Thus, the 13th legion was never recorded in any ancient world history.

On the night of 15th day of Moon 8th, Dimitrius broke into the dungeons through the water channels under the Windbloom Castle. No one is more familiar with the channels than the young man who used to lurk in there when his was a boy, for some reason. He managed to get to the dungeons by tapping into his memory of the locations of certain chambers.

He narrowly escaped from being discovered by the Great War machines. Legions by legions navigated through the underground channels silently without Ashkar Warriors noticing. No, they are too ignorant to notice there are channels beneath the castle. They must leave Windbloom Kingdom at once after the near death escape. All the legionnaires are evacuated, leaving the 12 officers behind. They hesitated when they asked to leave the place quickly.

All of them are exhausted and haggard but Mashiro-sama who is one of the 12 officers and owns the White Golden Steel sword insists," We must protect the castle and kingdom!"

Dimitrius went up to her and slapped right on her face. The other 11 HiME's eyes widened and disbelieve at what had happened just now.

"Mashiro-sama! We cannot act hastily after all these, not now! It does not matter if the castle collapse or the kingdom got torn into a thousand pieces. We need to protect as many of our people as we can and make sure we stay alive. Our people and we are the essence of Windbloom Kingdom, not the castle. Please put that in mind. ," says Dimitrius while holding Mashiro-sama's shoulders.

Mashiro's mind went blank at that point. "What was I thinking…" Mashiro murmurs to herself.

"Enough talking! Quick, get our acts together and leave this damn place!" Dimitrius commands impatiently.

* * *

Good or bad, I'll leave it to ya all to decide. I couldn't decide how Mashiro (in this story should look like). I personally prefer the purple headed girl but the one who started Mai-Otome is another, pink curly shoulder length hair (izzit?) 


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIMEs.

**Chapter 2: New life, new beginning. **

_Recap from previous chapter:_

_Mashiro's mind went blank at that point. "What was I thinking…" Mashiro murmurs to herself._

"_Enough talking! Quick, get our acts together and leave this damn place!" Dimitrius commands impatiently. _

5 days later at Windbloom Castle ground…

Standing in the balcony of Windbloom Castle before his fleets of battalions and Windbloom citizens, King Assym announces," King Solomon is dead! So as his pathetic 12 officers!"

The whole crowd is in dead silence as if they are mourning to the King and fellow fighters who are sacrificed in the Great War.

"Windbloom Kingdom is now officially under Cardair Empires ruling!" declares King Assym.

The sound of Ashkars hitting the tips of their sword to the ground rumble and got louder. Despite all the glory, King Assym knows how the people are feeling now, full of hatred and provoked. Sickly, it is what he wanted. In addition to that, he know that King Solomon is still alive and probably living like a street rat now.

Nevertheless, the sends a clear message to the rest of the world,

'Don't mess with him'.

The castle is left alone and King Assym later decides to restore it as a mark of his glorious victory over Solomon.

Soon, war ends. Crop fields destroyed, rivers polluted, burnt forest and much more similar scenes loomed across the land. By now, there is nothing left in Windbloom except the empty castle once filled with treasures and the lifeless land. From that moment onwards, the city became gloomy and darkness conceals the city completely.Cardair Empire has become more powerful than ever.

The most terrifying region in the Western Continent.

Many former Windbloom citizens migrated to neutral kingdoms at the Far East Continent, Bays of Bengal, RyuKyu Islands and Ming Empire. They are kind enough to allow mass migration of former Windbloom citizens to their land and provide shelters, clothes and food.

The question is 'How long could those kingdoms support the migrants?'.

Windbloom region is a huge one and it was estimated that around 20 million people lived there. There are millions of them swarming into the Far East kingdoms each day. The Orient Council consists of permanent representatives from Far East kingdoms are having headaches on what to do with the large surge of migrants.

Only time could tell.

Year after year, King Assym never give up searching high and low for the fugitives.

Fast forward

In Year 15, King Assym eventually stop hunting for Solomon, the 12 HiMEs and the mysterious man behind the whole escape plot.

Remaining Windbloom prisoners are deported to other regions to be slave to avoid revolt against the Cardair Council. Slowly, Windbloom fades from people's memory and erased from history.

Later, things loosen up…including them.

As for King Solomon, 12 HiMEs and Dimitrius with his legion, they lived for 15 years hiding and disguise just to keep them out of trouble. Yet, they never give up living because they believe there is hope in reviving Windbloom.

Yes, all these while they feed themselves with hope and the love they share among each other to keep them sane. It was never easy but at least they try. The bond they share is now unbreakable.

Actually, they have been hiding in the Far East regions and disguise as Windbloom's migrants. It is amazing to see them slipped into the mass of local and be part of them effortlessly. Therefore, they never got detected.

They are overwhelmed but happy to see their people move on and start a new life.

Sorry for bad command of language :P


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIMEs.

**Chapter 3: A breathe of fresh air. **

After the hunt campaign died out, Dimitrius decide to resume their journey. Dimitrius stared at the 12 HiMEs and the king.

"This time we are heading back to Far West Continent." says Dimitrius as he sits down with them.

"The mythical ancestral palace in Espaigniola." Dimitrius continues.

"Spain?The Summer Palace?" asks King Solomon.

Mashiro confirms with both of them, "Are you sure about this? We do not have much resource left anyway. It's either do or die. I say we go for it."

The other 11 HiMEs agreed as well. They leave Bengal the next morning. No one knows where the exact location and the existence of the Golden City, not even King of Assym and...

"I almost forgot about the Summer Palace! Seriously! Thanks to the summits and council meetings, I hardly leave Windloom. Hahaha! However, I seldom heard my family mention about it. And the problem now is I don't know the location." King Solomon quips.

Mashiro explodes "What!" and shots her death glare at King Solomon.

Everyone sighs and carry on walking after a scheduled rest. Although the journey is tough and definitely full of adventures, they travel as a group, free of fear being kill by enemies or slaughter by demons.

After months of walking and travelling, they reach Spain safely. Spain is always an exotic place for anyone. They could not resist exploring every corner of it without stop. The group split into smaller groups. Mashiro-sama is the odd one so she pairs with Dimitrius.

"Great…"Mashiro-sama mumbles to herself.

The food and culture is fantastic. However, their search has yet to complete.

"Waa…Did you see that bull fight in the stadium? It was awesome! I've never seen anything like that before." Mashiro-sama says excitedly.

Dimitrius knocks her head and says "Hey you twerp! Have you forgotten about the task in our hands?"

Mashiro-sama sticks out her tongue at him and argues, "Geez, can't we just have fun and enjoy these for a moment? Why are you always so tense up? Relax. The war is over. Remember?"

Dimitrius sighs," Haihs..You are right. Let's hit the town for dinner. My stomach is growling! Possibly get some drinks too. Sherry? "

This is a very uncommon sight of each other.

They wonder if it means anything. The rest of the groups are pretty much doing the same thing, travelling and searching for information about the palace. They will gather at Granada's main entrance gate after a month.

Today is another brand new day, Dimitrius and Mashiro found themselves in a tapas bar in an awkward position. But suddenly…

"Morning, people! Are you guys alright? I think both of you had too much of the special brew 'amontillado' last night. Glad you guys are awake now. Hey the drinks are free but you don't have to shovel it down like water!" says the bar owner.

Dimitrius and Mashiro look puzzled "Eh? Who are you?" They rub their eyes, feeling a little dizzy and remember that they are entangled with each other. Mashiro quickly untangles herself in a comical way and pull herself up from the wooden floor. She blushed and her face is as red as a tomato! Dimitrius remain calm.

The bar owner laughs and introduces himself, "Hahaha! My name is Juan Peruchio, owner of this tapas bar. Although it's a bit old but people still love to hang around here and have a few shots of sherry."

"I am Dimitrius and this lady over here is Mashiro. We are couples and just reached here yesterday for our honeymoon." says Dimitrius and smiles.

"WHAT?" Mashiro explodes and shots her deadly glare at the guy in front of her.

Dimitrius quickly turns around and plants his lips on Mashiro's tender lips.

Mashiro steams and her face got red even more. She tries to scream out but seems soften by the sudden kiss. She is speechless.

"I am sorry. She doesn't like people to know about our marriage." Dimitrius quips.

"I can see that. Hahaha. I am sure you must be hungry by now. Breakfast anyone?" asks Peruchio. " I've just got fresh eggs and vegetables from the local market. The potatoes were dug by the farmers this morning." he adds.

"Yes please. It would be great to have nice and hot _tortilla de patata _with extra cheese" says Dimitrius.

"Hah! Dimitrius, you know your food well as a foreigner! I will make yours a double portion just for that reason!"

"Huh? What's that?" asks Mashiro.

"Potato Omelette." Dimitrius whispers while Peruchio walks to the kitchen.

Mashiro rolls her eyes. "Hey chef Peruchio! I want that with some embutidos too!"

"Now what's that?" asks Dimitrius.

"Sausages, silly." answered Mashiro.

Both gobble up everything in that plate. The breakfast is the best they have had since they started travelling. "Here have some hot tea." Peruchio pours some into 2 cups. Both smile to Peruchio with their eyes gleaming. "Okay! Okay! I get it. Now stop that."

Mashiro noticed a lot of properly dressed people entering a beautiful building opposite the bar. "Peruchio, where are those people heading to?"

"The building opposite us is the public regional library. There are lots of books, ancient scripts and scrolls in there. Anyone could go in and do reference as long as they are local scholars. Granada is a famous scholastic city. The city boasts having the best schools and teaching facilities around. The book collection in the library are the most complete. Impressive eh?"

"I see. Impressive, impressive indeed." Dimitrius starts to whir something up in his brain and Mashiro knows something bad is going to befall her.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the HIMEs.

**Chapter 4: Something's building 1**

"Peruchio, do you have any vacant rooms? As you know we just got here and have yet to find a place to stay." says Dimitri.

"Yes I do. The rooms are upstairs. Make yourself comfortable. Bathroom is in there and 3 meals will be served in a day." Peruchio responds.

"Great! Here, 2 gold coins for you. I think we need to stay here for quite some time, if you don't mind." Dimitrius smiles. Peruchio happily accept the coins and went back to his kitchen to clean up.

Just when Mashiro opens her mouth to tell Dimitrius about excluding her from his plans….

"I have a plan and we need to get in there tonight. I mean the faster we get the location, the better right?" says Dimitrius.

"Yeah…right." Mashiro dreads.

Night falls and the sky is beautifully light up with stars. Unfortunately, Mashiro is unable to gaze the stars above her when she is standing in the underground water channels. Mashiro grumbles, " Why always must it be the stinking water channels? There is a thing called windows in this world, you know. And just to remind you, we have powers too! Besides, when did you checked out this place?"

"Shhhh! I don't want to get us fry by the local authorities! Shut up and move. I came here in the afternoon while you were in dreamland." Dimitrius looks ahead.

"No wonder you smelt weird when you came back into the room! I woke up because of that awful stench!" Mashiro complains.

"Shhhh!" Dimitrius looks behind him.

"Okay.Okay." Mashiro zipped her mouth.

The channel is almost pitch black. Dimitrius grab Mashiro's hands out of a sudden to ensure she stays close to him. Mashiro almost scream the life out of her but didn't because she recognises the firm grip of Dimitrius. She blushed. They move forward faster and found the exit. Well, not exactly the exit but it's a manhole with a ladder attached to it. They are directly under the library and according to Dimitrius's calculation, they should be at the secluded section of the library.

Dimitrius climbs up the ladder and tries to open the covering above him but later found the lid is stuck. "Damn. They must have sealed it." Dimitrius grab his dagger from his side pockets and starts scrapping out the sealant. 15 minutes later, he manage to move the lid a little. With an extra push, it pops open. He sticks out his head, observes and declares, "All clear." Both of them get out of the hole and they are amaze by the elegant décor. They could not help but admire the architectural beauty in here. "Simply astounding." Dimitrius thinks.

They begin running their fingers through the books, scripts, scrolls, anything they can find. But to no avail, they fail to find any manuscripts depicting the location of the city. Mashiro leans on the shelf and a book drop from top, almost hitting her right on her head.

In a split second, Mashiro is pulled towards Dimitrius and he catches the book in time before it hits the ground. Close call.

"Hey be careful, okay?" Dimitrius worries.

They are so close now that their bodies touched. Mashiro never felt this kind of warmth in her before. Suddenly she feels so secured. She knocks herself out of the dreamy instance and get back to work.

"How could a book dropped out in such a way?" Dimitrius thinks to himself while looking the top part of the shelf. Then, he flips the pages of the book he caught in hand since he has not check that book. He catches a glimpse of an explorers account and goes back to that page. Juan Marcus Pélo the great explorer of Far West Continent describes:

_Day 1:_

_In the summer of 540 BC, King of Espaigneola summoned me to the court in Aestival Paleis. I do not know why the King intend to seek me and I do not know the whereabouts of the Paleis. The Paleis officials escorted me. I had not seen before the surroundings throughout our little trip. I was surprise that I have not visited this land even though it is still part of Espaigneola. I asked the escorts and they politely answered that we were in 'Dracos Valley'. It seems this valley is inhabited although the soil is fertile. Wild fruits and berries were easy to obtain. I enjoyed every bits of them. I was told that we need to walk 4 days through the forest before we reach the …_

Dimitrius quickly slams the book, grab Mashiro's hand and dashed to the manhole they come out from.

"What?What?" Mashiro who is ever so blur and never understands Dimitrius' intentions.

"Quick, I have no time to explain!…" hustles Dimitrius.

Mashiro's arm scratches the edge of the manhole but kept quiet about it.

The moment they close the manhole, an old man holding an oil lamp in his hands, carrying out his routine checks around the library.

"Hm, it must be my ears again. I thought I did hear something."

Since everything seems untouched, he shrugged and moves on to another section.

Meanwhile…

Mashiro and Dimitrius are still in the manhole waiting for the old man to leave. They do not dare to move a single bit, fear they may be heard by the person above. They hold hands and pray. After some time, Dimitrius feels his feet a little wobbly.

"Shit…"


End file.
